Chaos at Miami City Commission: Intimidation Allegations, Personal Attacks, and Echoes of Past Scandal
MIAMI – A routine city commission meeting devolved into chaos Thursday after explosive personal accusations brought proceedings at Miami City Hall to a screeching halt. At the center of the firestorm: Commissioner Joe Carollo, whose history of using city power against political adversaries resurfaced in a public confrontation with the wife of fellow Commissioner Miguel Gabela.
The emotional outburst came from Mariela Gabela, who stood during the meeting and pointed directly at Carollo, accusing him of persistent surveillance and harassment.
“I’m the wife of an elected official, and that guy over there is always watching me,” she said, her voice quivering with emotion. “(Carollo’s) always watching me and his employees (are) always taking photos of me and watching me.”
She went on to allege that the city’s sergeant-at-arms was being used to monitor her at the behest of Carollo and claimed to possess video evidence supporting her allegations.
Commissioner Miguel Gabela echoed his wife’s sentiments, stating that he has been the target of political intimidation for over a year—an effort he claims intensified after he ordered a forensic audit of the Bayfront Park Management Trust, an entity long overseen by Carollo.
“This is 2.0 Ball & Chain, what they’re doing to me,” Gabela said, referencing a high-profile federal lawsuit that ended disastrously for Carollo.
A Troubling Pattern
Carollo’s track record raises red flags for many familiar with City Hall’s political undercurrents. In June 2023, a federal jury found Carollo liable for abusing his power to target the owners of the popular Little Havana bar Ball & Chain. In that case, the jury awarded $63.5 million in damages, concluding that Carollo weaponized city departments—including code enforcement and police—to retaliate against business owners who supported his political opponents.
Now, similar accusations are coming from inside City Hall itself.
“I’ve been targeted by the city of Miami code enforcement,” Commissioner Gabela said Thursday, adding that the alleged harassment campaign has escalated with a letter from Carollo’s office accusing Gabela’s personal properties of code violations.
Carollo has publicly denied these new allegations, just as he did in the Ball & Chain case. But the optics are increasingly difficult to defend, particularly given the city’s multi-million-dollar liability in the previous scandal.
‘Like a Jerry Springer Section’
Public attendees, many of whom had waited hours to conduct official business with the city, were left stunned and disappointed.
“They just pushed my meeting to the next meeting,” said James McQueen, one of several citizens impacted by the disruption.
“It was like a Jerry Springer section,” added resident Zeke Sultan.
James Torres, a well-known community activist and former commission candidate, didn’t mince words:
“They need to reallocate themselves back to the real business of the public.”
Instead, what the public witnessed was a political meltdown, complete with personal insults.
At one point, Carollo taunted Gabela with, “Why don’t you quit whining?”—a quip that only fanned the flames of discord in an already tense environment.
What’s Next?
The meeting ended abruptly, with all city business postponed until the next session scheduled for June 12. Those who had agenda items must now wait several more weeks for resolutions, approvals, or hearings.
Commissioner Gabela says he is weighing whether to escalate the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, potentially triggering a formal investigation into what he alleges is systemic abuse of power.
As the city attempts to pick up the pieces, many in the community are left asking the same question: how many more taxpayer dollars will be spent cleaning up the wreckage of political vendettas?
In a city already saddled with the fallout of Carollo’s previous legal debacle, the events of May 22 serve as a chilling reminder that Miami’s political dysfunction isn’t just an embarrassment—it’s an expensive one.
